


Arthur Shappey, Steward of the Ducks.

by EverlivingGhosts



Series: Ottery Kisses [2]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Fluff, Humour, Love, M/M, Romance, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-04-02
Packaged: 2017-12-07 06:34:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/745415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverlivingGhosts/pseuds/EverlivingGhosts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Arthur visits the duck pond at Fitton Park , disaster strikes!</p><p>Possibly the silliest thing I've ever written, but it was too fun so I have no regrets ;)</p><p>Sort of a sequel to 'Bubbles and Crumpets'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arthur Shappey, Steward of the Ducks.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Starlithorizon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlithorizon/gifts).



> A gift for you, Starlithorizon, because the image of Arthur + ducklings was just too much of a good opportunity to miss! And as a celebration of wonderful Fluff! It's supposed to be Spring here but I haven't seen one duckling yet >:(

It was a Saturday, but Arthur was feeling bored. This was slightly unusual as Arthur could be depended on to have fun doing the simplest things, but today seemed to be one of those days where time passes sluggishly and no task seems appealing. Secretly, he knew it was because he wanted to see Martin, but he was currently on a last minute van job which he wasn’t really in a position to refuse. And because Arthur couldn’t go and see Martin, suddenly everything else seemed like a waste of time, uninteresting. He tidied his room, tried to put his Mum’s DVDs in order of brilliance (he couldn’t make his mind up in the end so this was a slightly futile endeavour), got shouted at by his mum for messing up her DVDs then finally decided he should probably just leave the house and go for a little walk. Martin hadn’t been sure when he would be back from the job, but he had been hours already so Arthur reasoned that if he had a little walk in Fitton Park, he would be able to waste a little bit of time and he would already be on his way to Martin’s. Of course, he wished that he could be visiting the park with Martin, but there was no point wallowing about it and he thought that maybe he could convince Martin to go on a picnic with him tomorrow. He knew Martin got stressed about dates and felt inadequate about his lack of money, so going on a nice low key picnic would probably be an alright suggestion. Arthur moved into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich to eat in the park and saw his Mum stood there drinking a mug of tea and reading a newspaper. She eyed him narrowly.

“Arthur, you aren’t planning any more destructive activities, are you?”  
“No Mum, I think I’m just going to go to the park, actually, because it’s a lovely day and I fancy a bit of a walk.”  
This didn’t seem to console Carolyn.  
“Are you sure you know the way to the park? I shall never forget the time when you said you were going to the corner shops and didn’t return for four hours.”  
“That’s not my fault- an ice cream van went past and wouldn’t stop! Not even when I chased it for ages.”  
Carolyn almost smiled at the image of a crazed Arthur chasing after an ice cream van which was trying to escape this eager madman, but she was still slightly worried about her silly son.  
“I still do not think you should go alone though.”  
“Don’t worry, Mum! I’ll have my phone with me this time and I can, er, always pop in at Martin’s if I get lost.”  
Now, Arthur hadn’t told Carolyn about his relationship with Martin quite yet, and he wondered briefly if he had slipped up, but Carolyn missed any meaning in this. She looked glad that he had someone to go to in case he ran into trouble.  
“Fine, go to the park. I suppose you don’t need me to tell you what to do anymore. Herc and I are going out so we probably won’t be back later.”  
That was fine, as Arthur intended to stay at Skip’s or at least do something with him in the evening. But of course he didn’t mention this.  
“Ok! Hope you have a nice time and say hi to Herc for me!”  
He went over to give her a good bye kiss, and she didn’t swat him away because she secretly felt guilty about shouting at him before, not that she was going to say sorry.  
“See you later, Arthur.”

 

He waved and left with his sandwich. He understood why his Mum had been concerned about him, but he sort of wished she had a bit more faith in him because he had memorised how to get to the park by foot ever since Douglas won his car and he couldn’t drive there anymore. But he couldn’t really blame her as he had the tendency to daydream when he walked and tended to end up in fun but unexpected locations, unable to remember how to get home. Luckily, the day was lovely and sunny, so the walk to the park was a very pleasant one and he focused on getting there rather than being distracted. He hummed as he felt the warm rays on his face, and couldn’t help but skip a little on the cobbled streets. It was funny; anyone else doing this at Arthur’s age would have looked ridiculous, but Arthur was such a clearly unpretentious and sunny person that people couldn’t help but smile when they saw him. He was well known in the area, which is one of the reasons why Carolyn hadn’t kicked up much of a fuss about him leaving; she knew someone would be willing to help in case he got in any pickles. When he got to the park gates, he jumped up on the gate door and swung himself into the park with glee. He decided that because the day was so lovely, he should eat his sandwich by the duck pond and watch them paddling around because he loved the ducks immensely. Arthur didn’t mind sharing a bit of his sandwich with the ducks and anyway, sharing it would make him feel less alone and maybe he could make some duck friends. 

 

But, as he made his way to the pond, he could hear some very strange noises on the wind. There seemed to be a distressed sort of quacking and flapping, so he quickened his pace, ready to save this poor sounding duck. When he got near the water, he saw that a sleek looking fox had its mouth around a struggling duck and he was overcome with absolute horror. He loved foxes as foxes were brilliant, but he couldn’t bear to see any animal in distress even when people tried to explain that it was just the way of life. He moved over and waved his arms, shouting and trying to intimidate the fox. This did serve to frighten the predator, which dropped the duck and bolted down through the reeds in fright. Arthur rushed to the battered body of the bird, but he already knew that it was dead. He felt his eyes well with tears and he registered that the duck was a lovely brown one; oh no, it was a mother duck! To make matters worse, he knew that the ducks were just beginning to have their little ducklings and he shuddered to think about what would happen to this one’s babies if she had any. He felt slightly ridiculous bending down in the reeds and cradling the body of the duck, but he felt strangely responsible. Sure enough, as he knelt there he heard some tiny little quacks and saw five little fluffy ducklings paddling across the water. They must have been in the shadows when their mother was attacked, and Arthur looked at them sadly, tears still shining on his face.

“Oh, hello! Oh my goodness you are so cute! I’m so sorry about your Mum.”

He wasn’t exactly sure why he was talking to them, but he didn’t want them to feel sad about their poor mum and he felt better himself when he talked to them. He wondered what he could do to distract them from the sad body of the duck, so he reached into his pocket and tore some bread off of his sandwich, throwing it lightly to the sweet little ducklings. He thought he should do the responsible thing and call an animal shelter to ask what he should do about them, so he straightened up and brought out his mobile. Arthur frowned as he saw that he had no signal and moved away from the pond for the moment, waving his phone around in desperation. He decided he should go onto the path to try and get a signal and started to make his way down it. But, as he moved he heard a peculiar noise behind him; a kind of soft shuffle displacing the small stones on the path. He turned around in confusion and his mouth fell open as he saw that the five little ducklings were following him, their tails waggling. He tried to shoo them away weakly.

“Oh no, I’m not your mum! You need to go back, you sweet little things!”

But, they obviously couldn’t understand him, and they began a cacophony of tiny quacks, eagerly clustering around his feet. He tried desperately to walk away, but they simply followed him. He was conflicted with a mixture of worry and delight; he absolutely loved ducklings and was so pleased that they were following him, but he knew that everyone would probably shout at him if he brought them home. But he couldn’t abandon them, and as he took in their fluffy little bodies and adorable faces he knew he had to look after them. He decided he would take them home, to hell with what anyone would say to him. His Mum would surely get annoyed with him when she returned, but he knew even she wouldn’t be able to resist the urge of fluffy ducklings. He walked through the park, ridiculously pleased that the waddling ducklings were still following him and he couldn’t help but have a little fun with them. He began to zigzag slightly, and was thrilled when the ducklings followed suit. He began to laugh, but this was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He picked it up and answered with a smile.  
“Hello?”  
“Hi Arthur, it’s Martin! Though you probably knew that when you heard my voice…anyway that doesn’t matter. I saw that you rung me before and I just wanted to let you know that I’ve finally finished that bloody job. Did you want to meet up? I mean, it’s fine if you’re busy.”  
His voice sounded so hopeful that Arthur couldn’t refuse him. But he knew exactly what Skip would say about the ducklings.  
“Erm, well, the thing is, Skip-“  
He knew Martin had picked up on his hesitance, and he heard Martin’s voice quicken.  
“Oh, you are busy. I’m sorry, I should have-“  
“No, no! I want to meet you, it’s just I’m in a bit of a weird situation.”  
Arthur paused, wondering how he should phrase this particular problem, and he heard Martin’s voice fill with horror and panic.  
“Oh God, what’s happened? Are you ok? Are you hurt?”  
“Yes, I’m fine, I’m not hurt at all, well-“ He remembered the mother duck who definitely had been hurt, and his voice turned wobbly and tears threatened again, and Martin definitely picked up on this.  
“Right, I’m coming to find you. Where are you?”  
“At the park, but Skip-“  
“Sorry, I’ve got to go, my stupid battery’s running out but I’ll find you!” 

Before Arthur could explain further, the phone clicked off and he was left staring at it in bemusement. It was just like Skip to get all worked up, but Arthur loved it. Well, there wasn’t anything for it; he knew Skip would be a little while so he searched for a bench and settled down on it, watching the ducklings cluster round his feet again. They really seemed to have taken a shine to Arthur, and he briefly wondered if he looked like a giant duck to them. One began pecking his shoes so he lifted it up and petted it softly, absolutely ecstatic that he had finally gotten to stroke a duckling, which was now definitely on his list of things that made him truly happy. He brought the rest of the sandwich out of his pocket and fed it to the ducklings, but he didn’t mind so much because he ate the cheese out of it and it was lovely cheese after all. He didn’t think ducks would be able to eat cheese somehow, which was a shame because cheese was delicious and he felt that everyone should be able to have some, even animals. 

 

Eventually, he saw Skip appear at the gate and cast his eyes worriedly around for Arthur. Arthur had sensibly chosen to sit on a bench in clear view of the gate, so Martin saw him quickly and hurried over. He didn’t see the ducklings until he was very close to the bench, and his mouth fell open.  
“Ducklings. The emergency was….ducklings.”  
“Oh, hello Skip! I did try and explain but you put the phone down.”  
“Why are you surrounded by ducklings? Have you taken them from the pond?”  
“Of course I haven’t stolen them! That would be evil, Skip. They sort of followed me and I can’t get them to go away, not that I want them to.”  
Martin sighed as he felt the full force of an Arthur Shappey puppy dog stare, but he could not deny that the sight of Arthur surrounded by ducklings was one of the sweetest things he had ever seen.  
“We need to bring them back to their Mum. Did you see her?”  
“She- she died.”  
Martin regretted asking this, as he saw Arthur’s face wobble and even though he looked adorable, he hated it when Arthur cried. He sat down on the bench, carefully avoiding the quacking ducklings and put his arms around Arthur, hugging him firmly.  
“Oh no, that’s awful. How did it happen?”  
“A fox. Oh Skip, it was horrible and now they think I’m their Mum.”  
Arthur buried his face into Martin’s shoulder, so he pressed a kiss onto his brown curls. He knew how sensitive Arthur was about animals, and he knew how horrified Arthur would have been when he saw a fox attacking a duck.  
“You would be a splendid duck Mum, Arthur. In fact, you’re now Arthur Shappey, Steward of the Ducks!”  
He felt Arthur give a chuckle which had been his intention, and Arthur lifted his head, catching Martin’s lips in a kiss.  
“Missed you.”

It seemed silly, as they had seen each other the day before on a trip, but Martin had missed Arthur too. They kissed again on the bench, and Martin dryly reflected that it was sort of funny how he had always wanted to be one of those teenagers who kissed their girlfriend or boyfriend on a park bench, and here he was; an adult kissing his boyfriend surrounded by ducklings. The ducks quacked plaintively, so they parted with reluctance. Martin took Arthur’s hand and spoke gently.  
“We’re going to have to ring the RSPCA. We won’t be able to look after them.”  
“But Skip, I know about them- they hardly have any room and they usually end up putting them down. I-I can’t let that happen; I’m their Mum now.” 

Martin knew that despite Arthur’s easy-going nature, he was immovable on most subjects, even though he usually agreed with Martin on most things. He knew what Carolyn’s attitude towards the ducklings would be, cute or not.  
“Arthur, you know what your Mum will say. And they can’t stay at mine- I have no room and they need water and duck food. They are really sweet, but we should talk to professionals-“  
“I could be a duck professional! I’ll get a book and go to the pet shop! I’ll promise to call the RSPCA, but could we take them home first?” 

Damn it, how could Martin resist that shining face? Even the ducklings seemed to be looking at him. He knew he was defeated.  
“Fine. We’ll bring them to my flat, but they can’t stay there. I’ll ring the professionals in a bit when I charge my phone.”  
Arthur leapt from the bench joyfully, and Martin couldn’t help but laugh as he saw the ducks follow him. He truly looked perfect with them and even though Martin thought it was only going to end up in disaster he was enjoying Arthur’s obvious joy and excitement. They walked through the park hand in hand, and they looked a picture with the ducklings following them. There were a few people in the park and they laughed as they saw the two men approach followed by the happy, waddling ducklings. Arthur announced proudly,  
“Gosh, I feel like a parent!” 

Martin was worried that the ducklings would try and separate from them and they would have to lead a mad chase around Fitton because he knew Arthur wouldn’t rest until he saw them safe. But they seemed determined to follow them, much to Arthur’s delight. They weren’t sure how to cross the road at first, but they decided to carry them across, even though this responsibility made Martin nervous. Arthur took three and settled them in his arms, looking left and right in steely determination. Martin had the other two, trying to ignore the cars driving past who were looking at them in interest and with a slight incredulity. A short while later, Martin was watching the five ducklings paddling round in his bath and wondering if he had finally gone mad. Arthur was bent over the bath, cooing and giggling.  
“Oh my gosh, it’s like having a real set of rubber ducks! Look at them, paddling around. Ha!”  
Martin just sat at the edge of the bath, pinching the bridge of his nose. They had to ring the doorbell of his house as their hands were full of ducklings, and the student that had opened the door stared at them with eyes wide. Martin just looked at her desperately.  
“Don’t ask.”

She hadn’t said anything, but she laughed as she heard the multitude of happy quacking and Arthur singing.  
“Me and Skip are parents, hooray! Quack to you too!”

Martin couldn’t stay stressed for long though; Arthur just looked too happy playing with the ducklings. Arthur might not be good at some things, but he was excellent at helping, and he was doing and amazing job with the ducklings. Martin tried to ring a shelter to take the birds, but the one in Fitton had closed early because it was a Saturday, and any others were just too far away. Martin noticed that Arthur didn’t look upset at all by this news.  
“Well, looks like we’re going to have to keep them until they open again. You’re happy about that, aren’t you?”

Arthur just giggled a naughty little giggle and gave Martin a sweet kiss in repentance. They spent the rest of the afternoon watching the ducklings waddle around his room until around evening time when they eventually huddled in a pile of clothes underneath his radiator and fell asleep, their little eyes closing. They had been planning on getting a takeaway, but Martin knew what would happen if they got a Chinese and Arthur saw the ‘Duck’ on the menu, so he used what was in the cupboard and made them some pasta. Well, he and Arthur made it together as Arthur was the better cook, and somehow Arthur managed to make Martin’s usually bland dinner delicious. Martin felt it was too late and dark for Arthur to return home, but luckily Carolyn wouldn’t suspect anything as she had rung up Arthur to let him know she was staying the night at Herc’s. They found a cardboard box and carefully placed the ducklings inside so that they didn’t get lost in the room during the night. Arthur watched with a smile as Martin put a little dish of water in just in case they were thirsty and put in some socks in case they were cold.  
“You make a brilliant duck dad, Skip.”  
“And you were an excellent duck mum, Arthur.” 

This prompted Arthur to make quacking noises and pretend to peck Martin, and Martin pretended to run away in fear. Of course, the pecks soon turned to kisses, and they collapsed on the bed, Arthur holding Martin against him. They easily fell asleep, the box of ducklings being the last thing they saw before they succumbed.

 

Arthur Shappey was a very persuasive man when he wanted to be. The next day, they found a small, battered paddling pool in the garage in the miniscule garden of Martin’s shared house and the ducklings made a comfortable home in the safe, gated garden. The students loved the quirkiness of having a set of ducklings, feeding them when Martin was away on flights, and even their landlord let them keep them after Arthur had begged him. They never tried to escape, and even when they had grown to be ducks they often visited, waiting patiently for Arthur to bring them bread. Arthur was so grateful that Martin had let him keep them and Martin enjoyed being able to offer Arthur this simple pleasure. They often went for walks in the park and when they went past the duck pond they just smiled at each other knowingly.

**Author's Note:**

> Who knows if this could actually happen, but I'm sure Arthur Shappey would've snuck them home even if they didn't follow him ;)


End file.
